WHILE a High Court Judge has condemned postal votes as being "hopelessly insecure", it has been revealed that more than 26,000 will be issued across Salford for May's general election.

After Prime Minister Tony Blair finally announced that the general election will be held on May 5, John Willis, chief returning officer for Salford, pledged the city would push on with plans to issue thousands of postal ballots despite the recent criticism of the system by Richard Mawley QC.

Earlier this week Mr Mawley launched a blistering attack on the postal voting system as he found six Labour councillors from two Birmingham wards guilty of electoral fraud following last year's local elections.

He said the episode would "disgrace a banana republic" and said the councillors were responsible for a "massive, systematic and organised fraud."

Mr Mawley ordered a re-election in the wards and banned the councillors from standing after the court heard several had intercepted votes and doctored them in a "vote rigging factory" set up in a disused warehouse.

The Judge said: "Postal ballot packages are sent out by ordinary mail in clearly identifiable envelopes. Short of writing 'Steal Me' on the envelope, it is hard to see what more could have been done to ensure their coming into the wrong hands."

Referring to a government statement which said there were no plans to change the postal voting system and that procedures for dealing with electoral fraud are working, he said: "There are no systems to deal realistically with fraud and there never have been. Until there are, fraud will continue unabated."

However, Mr Willis did not agree with the High Court Judge. He added: "We believe strongly in the benefits of postal voting in Salford - so long as the right measures are in place to ensure a free and fair election.

"In Salford we had an all-postal ballot last year and were very happy with the outcome which showed much improved turnout compared to past years.

"After the poll last year we carried out some test checks of declaration of identity forms returned and we were 100 per cent satisfied that no fraud took place."